Road roller



34, 3967 c. E. JENNINGS, JR 33%,?2

ROAD ROLLER Original Filed Jan. 8, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet l 1 INVENTOR.

CHARLES E. JENNINGS, JR.

BY WJ M ATTORNEY G. E- JENNINGS, JR

ROAD ROLLER 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Jan. 8, 1962 INVENTOR CHARLES E. JENNINGS, JR. v

ATTORNEY Feb. 14, E c. E. JENNiNGS, JR

ROAD ROLLER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Jan. 8, 1962 INVENTOR CHARLES E. JENNINGS, JR. BY m ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,303,762 ROAD ROLLER Charles E. Jennings, Jr., Youngstown, Ohio, assignor to The Renner Company, Youngstown, Ohio, 2 corporation of Ohio Continuation of application Ser. No. 164,855, Jan. 8, 1962. This application Jan. 4, 1966, Ser. No. 530,750 6 Claims. (Cl. 94-50) This application is a continuation of my copending application Serial No. 164,855 filed January 8, 1962, now abandoned.

This invention relates to a roller and more particularly to a vibratory road roller such as used in compacting road building material and the like.

The principal object of the invention is the provision of a road roller incorporating means for maintaining a constant vibrating speed variable within a desirable range regardless of the forward or reverse speed of the roller itself.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a compact vibratory road roller of the tandem self-propelled type wherein the principal roller is provided with means for producing controlled vibration therein whereby paving materials and road building materials being compacted by the vibratory roller are advantageously compacted.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a relatively small, light weight, compact vibratory road roller so arranged that the vibratory action of the principal roller develops as much compaction in paving materials as a non-vibratory road roller having approximately five times the Weight.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a vibratory road roller in which a hydrostatic fluid power transmission system is utilized both for driving the vibratory mechanism at a selected and uniformly maintained rate and for simultaneously driving the road roller' itself forwardly or backwardly at any desired rate of travel.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a vibratory road roller of an improved design incorporating an improved hydraulic fluid power transmission system.

The vibratory road roller disclosed herein comprises an improvement in the art of road rollers as heretofore known and used in compacting road paving materials and the like. Heretofore the general practice has been to depend upon the Weight of the road roller to compact the materials such as gravel, slag, and the like as well as bituminous paving materials, and as a result such rollers have been bulky, heavy, expensive, difiicult to transport and subject to undue wear and relatively short life. The present invention relates to an improved road roller which is a relatively small and relatively light-weight machine and wherein the compaction of the paving materials is obtained through the use of a principal vibratory roller and means for maintaining a constant predetermined vibratory action thereof. It has been determined that such vibratory rollers, for example, a two or a two and one-half ton machine develop as much compaction density in paving materials as a ten ton static roller. The principal point of novelty in the present disclosure is the arrangement of the vibratory roller and in particular the hydrostatic fluid drive by which the vibratory motion of the principal roller of the machine as well as the for- Ward and reverse motion of the machine are obtained.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being the intention to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for 3,303,752 Patented Feb. 14, 1967 ice purposes of the disclosure, which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

1FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the vibratory road r0 er.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged side elevation thereof with parts broken away and parts in cross section.

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section on line 3-3 of FIG- URE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a horizontal detail on line 4--4 of FIG- URE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a horizontal detail on line 55 of FIG- URE 2.

FIGURE 6 is a diagrammatic flow diagram of the hydraulic system utilized in the vibratory roa-d roller.

By referring to the drawings and FIGURES 1 and 2 in particular, it will be seen that the vibratory road roller disclosed herein comprises an integral body-and frame, the side members of which are indicated at 10 and 11, a front member by the numeral 12 and a rearwardly projecting-upwardly and outwardly curved rear section 13. A rear roller 14 is journalled on a shaft 15 which in turn is held at its ends by a yoke 16 having a centrally located pivot assembly 17 including a vertical shaft 18 which is pivotally mounted in the rearward extension 13 of the frame of the roller. Means for imparting turning motion to the pivot assembly 17 and hence the yoke 16 and the rear roller 14 are provided as will be understood by those skilled in the art and is operatively connected to the steering wheel 19 seen in FIGURE 1 of the drawings.

The front end of the road roller seen at the left in FIG- URES 1 and 2 mounts a vibratory roller 20 (as best seen in FIGURES 2 and 3) on a pair of vertically disposed spaced parallel flanged plates 21 which are pivotally attached t0 the side frame members 22 by pivots 21A.

Resilient members 22 are attached to the side frame members 10 and 11 of the roller and the plates 21 and spaced closely between the same. The plates 21 have journals 23 in the lower portions thereof as best seen in FIGURES 3 and 5 of the drawings and which journals 23 rotatably receive in antifriction bearings 24 the ends of an axle 25 which comprises the central member of the vibratory roller 20. It will thus be seen that the vibratory roller 20 is in effect insulated from the frame and body portions of the roller itself inasmuch as it is carried on the plates 21 which in turn are mounted in the side frame members of the roller by the resilient mounting members 22 and the pivots 21A heretofore referred to.

The uppermost portion of the plates 21 have oppositely disposed horizontally spaced secondary journals 26 in which the off center ends of a pair of parallel longitudione another. A hydraulic motor 29 is secured to one of the plates 21 and hence to the vibratory roller 20 which rods 27 and arranged to drive dual sheaves 30 which in turn drive dual sheaves 31 on said opposite end of one of the eccentric rods 27 by way of a pair of V-belts seen in FIGURE 4 of the drawings. The longitudinal eccentric rods 27 comprise rod-like members off center with respect to their end extensions and upon being rotated simultaneously impart a desirably vertical vibratory action to the plates 21 and hence to the vibratory roller 20 which is directly journalled thereon and immediately therebelow. Means for driving the vibratory roller 20 in a rotary action so that motion therefrom can be used to move the road roller forwardly or backwardly may be-seen by referring to FIGURES 2 and 5, and it will be observed that at one side of the vibratory roller 20 an enlarged sprocket 33 is provided and is secured to the end of the vibratory roller 20 by members 34. A smaller sprocket 35 is secured to one end of a stub shaft 36 which in turn is journalled in antifriction bearings 37 on one of the plates 21 as best seen in FIGURES 2 and of the drawings and the stub shaft 36 is provided with a larger sprocket 38 which is aligned with a secondary smaller sprocket 39 on the end of a drive shaft 40 which in turn is journalled in antifriction bearings on one of the plates 21 in spaced relation to the bearings 37 heretofore referred to. Drive chains 42 and 43 connect the sprockets 33 and 35 respectively and the sprockets 38 and 39 respectively so that rotary motion imparted the driveshaft 41 as for example through a universal joint 42 and a secondary drive shaft 43 will be conveyed to the vibratory roller 20 so that the same may be revealed thereby. The secondary drive shaft 43 is coupled by a secondary universal joint 44 to a fluid motor 45, which is partically illustrated in FIGURE 5 and in FIGURE 2 and also appears in the flow diagram of FIGURE 6 as does the vibratory driving motor 29. It will thus be seen that the vibratory roller 20 is capable of being rotated by the fluid motor 45 and that the vibratory roller 20 is subject to vertical vibratory action along with the plates 21 as occasioned by the rotation of the elongated eccentric rods 27 heretofore referred to. The portion of the main frame or body of the road roller extending above the eccentric rods 27 and the plates 21 comprises a tank 46 in which water may be positioned to add weight to the road roller.

An internal combustion engine 47 is mounted in the road roller, its exhaust manifold and vent pipe are indicated by the numeral 48, and it is directly coupled to a hydraulic pump 49 so that hydraulic fluid from a reservoir 50 in communication with the pump 49 by way of hydraulic line 51 may be moved by the pump 49 through a secondary hydraulic line 52 to a flow divider valve 53 which is of the type as known in the art that may be manually adjusted by means of a control lever 54 to automatically maintain a constant pressure and volume of hydraulic fluid through a secondary hydraulic line 55. The secondary hydraulic line 55 extends to a manifold 56 and therebeyond to the vibrator drive motor 29. The return line from the vibrator drive motor 29 is indicated by the numeral 57 and communicates directly with the reservoir 50. A pressure relief valve 58 communicates with the return lines 57 and with the supply line 52 heretofore referred to so that a circuit is maintained for the hydraulic fluid whenever the hydraulic pump 49 is operated. The other outlet port of the flow divider 53 communicates with a hydraulic line 59 which leads to a fourway control valve 60 which has a manual control lever 61 as known in the art. A return line 62 leads from the four-way control valve 60 to the reservoir 50 and a pair of hydraulic lines 62 and 63 establish communication between the four-way control valve 60 and the vibrator roller drive motor 45 heretofore referred to. It will thus be observed that the operator of the road roller can by means of conventional gasoline engine contol equipment (not shown) establish a desirably operating speed of the internal combustion engine 47 which will be directly imparted to the hydraulic pump 49 with the resultant flow of hydraulic fluid to the flow divider valve 53. The flow divider valve 53, as known in the art, is arranged so that it automatically maintains a constant volume and pressure on the hydraulic line 55 and hence on the eccentric rods of the drive motor 29 so that depending upon the setting of the manual lever 54 of the flow divider valve 53 the eccentric rods 27 which comprises the vibrators, operate continuously at a desired vibratory rate. Fluctuations and changes in the speed of the internal combustion engine 47 and hence the output of hydraulic pump 49 therefore do not interfere with this constant vibratory speed of the eccentric rods 27. The four-way control valve plus the speed control of the engine 47 gives the operator of the road roller unlimited forward and backward control of the speed of the road roller itself. It will be observed that the actual drive to the vibratory roller 20 which is the driving roller of the machine comprises a double reduction chain drive located inside the roller rim. This arrangement gives more curb clearance and eliminates possible damage to chains and sprockets which would otherwise occur.

As known in the art scraper bars are provided on the compaction roller and concealed so that it is impossible for the same to be bent by rolling too close to curbs or to other objects. It will also be noted that the entire power supply, hydraulic system and vibratory units are located within heavy steel plates which form the frame and body of the road roller and are thereby capable of being easily enclosed against malicious damage or mischief. By again referring to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, it will be observed that an operators chair 64 is provided adjacent the control levers 54 and 61 of the flow divider valve 53 and four-way control valve 63 respectively. It will thus be seen that a road roller incorporating a novel hydrostatic drive by means of which the eccentric rods 27 forming the vibratory elements may be revolved at a constant predetermined desirable rate has been disclosed while the same system permits unusually flexible and convenient driving motion to be imparted in either forward or reversed direction to the road roller itself.

I claim:

1. In combining in a vibratory road roller: a compaction roller adapted to engage a supporting surface and be moved therealong; a pair of transversely spaced vertically disposed plates in said road roller; resilient mounting members supporting said plates in said road roller; axle means in said compaction roller positioned between and journalled in said plates, at least one vibrating device for producing directed vibrations mounted on said plates, means for imparting rotary motion to said vibrating device, a power source in said road roller and a hydraulic fluid power transmission system including a pair of hydraulic motors driven by said power source, one of said driven hydraulic motors comprising said means for imparting rotary motion to said vibrating device, driven means on said road roller for moving said road roller along said supporting surface, the other hydraulic motor being mounted on said road roller, drive means in said road roller being drivingly connected between said other hydraulic motor and said driven means on said road roller to impart rotary motion thereto, and control means in said fluid power transmission system acting to selectively direct hydraulic fluid in a uniform pressure and volume to said first-mentioned hydraulic motor wherein said vibrating device may be caused to oscillate at a desirably predetermined constant rate and to said other hydraulic motor to rotate said driven means on said road roller.

2. The improvements in a vibratory road roller set forth in claim 1 and wherein said vibrating device comprises eccentric rods journalled in said plates in evenly spaced sideby-side relation relative to a vertical plane extending through the axis of said compaction roller.

3. A road roller having a frame with a rearward steerable roller and means for steering the same and a forward compaction roller and means for driving the same so as to move said road roller forwardly and backwardly, said driving means comprising an internal combustion engine, a hydraulic pump driven by said engine, a source of hydraulic fluid, a line in communication with said hydraulic pump and a hydraulic motor positioned in said road roller adjacent said compaction roller, a compaction roller mounting assembly including a pair of horizontally spaced vertical plates, resilient mounting members secured to the outer sides of said plates and to the inner sides of the frame of said road roller, journals on said plates be low said resilient mounting members and in vertical align ment therewith, said compaction roller mounted in said journals, sprocket means on said compaction roller and secondary sprocket means rotatably mounted on one of said plates and flexible drive members interconnecting said sprockets and said hydraulic motor for imparting rotary motion to said compaction roller, a vibrating device for producing directed vibrations comprising in combination with said vertical plates at least two rods rotatably mounted transversely between said plates and equally spaced with respect to the vertical axis of said compaction roller and said resilient mounting members, the end portions of each of said rods being oflf center with respect to the remainder thereof, a secondary hydraulic motor mounted on one of said plates adjacent the ends of said rods, and flexible drive means interconnecting said rods and said secondary hydraulic motor and a flow divider valve in said hydraulic communication line arranged to selectively maintain a constant pressure and volume flow to said secondary hydraulic motor, and to said first mentioned hydraulic motor.

4. In a vibratory road roller including a principal compaction roller and means mounting said compaction roller for movement relative to said road roller, vibratory means for imparting controlled vibratory motion to said compaction roller, said vibratory means comprising a pair of vertically positioned plates, a pair of spaced parallel horizontally disposed shafts having their end portions 01f center relative thereto and journalled in oppositely disposed portions of said plates, drive means interconnecting said shafts and a hydraulic motor arranged to impart rotary motion to one of said shafts; a hydraulic system comprising a fluid pump, a fluid reservoir and a hydraulic fluid pressure line establishing communication between said fluid reservoir, said pump and said hydraulic motor, a flow divider valve in said line establishing fluid pressure communication between said pump and said hydraulic motor, a return line from said hydraulic motor to said reservoir and a return line from said flow divider valve to said fluid reservoir, said flow divider valve arranged to direct a constant volume pressure of hydraulic fluid to said hydraulic motor to drive said shafts at a constant speed, a secondary hydraulic motor in said roller, and flexible drive means connecting said secondary hydraulic motor and said compaction roller for imparting rotary motion thereto, a hydraulic fluid pressure line interconnecting said flow divider valve and said secondary hydraulic motor and a hydraulic control valve in said last-mentioned hydraulic fluid pressure line whereby said secondary hydraulic motor may be controlled and its operation stopped and reversed while said first-mentioned hydraulic motor continues to 6 operate at its predetermined desired rate in accordance with the setting of said flow divider valve.

5. In a vibratory road roller including a compaction roller and means for imparting vertically directed vibratory motion thereto; a compaction roller mounting assembly, said compaction roller rotatably mounted in said assembly, resilient members interconnecting said assembly and said road roller so as to cause the vibratory action of said vibratory means to be restricted to said compaction roller and said assembly, said means for imparting vibratory motion comprising a vibrator mechanism positioned in said assembly on the vertical axes of said compaction roller, a hydraulic motor for imparting motion to said vibratory means, and a secondary hydraulic motor for driving said road roller, a hydraulic system in said road roller for driving said hydraulic motors, said hydraulic system including a reservoir for hydraulic fluid, a pump in communication with said reservoir, a power source for driving said pump, a flow divider valve in communication with the outlet of said pump, a four-way control valve, and fluid pressure lines extending from said flow divider valve to said first hydraulic motor and to said four-way valve and from said four-Way valve to said second hydraulic motor, a return line from said four-way control valve to said reservoir and a return line from said first hydraulic motor to said reservoir, a return line from said secondary hydraulic motor to said four-Way control valve, said flow divider valve arranged to selectively direct a constant volume-pressure of hydraulic fluid to said first hydraulic motor to drive said vibratory means at a constant speed when said hydraulic pump is operating, said flow divider valve also directing hydraulic fluid to said fourway valve, said four-way valve arranged to control the operation of said second hydraulic motor.

6. The road roller set forth in claim 5 and wherein said compaction roller has an axle journalled at its ends in said assembly and wherein said journals, said resilient mounting members, and said vibratory mechanism are on a common vertical plane.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,466,822 4/ 1949 Pollitz 94-50 2,830,511 4/1958 Wills 9450 3,026,781 3/ 1962 Schafer 94-50 CHARLES E. OCONNELL, Primary Examiner.

N. C. BYERS, Assistant Examiner. 

3. A ROAD ROLLER HAVING A FRAME WITH A REARWARD STEERABLE ROLLER AND MEANS FOR STEERING THE SAME AND A FORWARD COMPACTION ROLLER AND MEANS FOR DRIVING THE SAME SO AS TO MOVE SAID ROAD ROLLER FORWARDLY AND BACKWARDLY, SAID DRIVING MEANS COMPRISING AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE, A HYDRAULIC PUMP DRIVEN BY SAID ENGINE, A SOURCE OF HYDRAULIC FLUID, A LINE IN COMMUNICATION WITH SAID HYDRAULIC PUMP AND A HYDRAULIC MOTOR POSITIONED IN SAID ROAD ROLLER ADJACENT SAID COMPACTION ROLLER, A COMPACTION ROLLER MOUNTING ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A PAIR OF HORIZONTALLY SPACED VERTICAL PLATES, RESILIENT MOUNTING MEMBERS SECURED TO THE OUTER SIDES OF SAID PLATES AND TO THE INNER SIDES OF THE FRAME OF SAID ROAD ROLLER, JOURNALS ON SAID PLATES BELOW SAID RESILIENT MOUNTING MEMBERS AND IN VERTICAL ALIGNMENT THEREWITH, SAID COMPACTION ROLLER MOUNTED IN SAID JOURNALS, SPROCKET MEANS ON SAID COMPACTION ROLLER AND SECONDARY SPROCKET MEANS ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON ONE OF SAID PLATES AND FLEXIBLE DRIVE MEMBERS INTERCONNECTING SAID SPROCKETS AND SAID HYDRAULIC MOTOR FOR IMPARTING ROTARY MOTION TO SAID COMPACTION ROLLER, A VIBRATING DEVICE FOR PRODUCING DIRECTED VIBRATIONS COMPRISING IN COMBINATION 